Every few days, I post musings, ideas, quotes, and mini-essays on writing, painting, and the creative process. I'm a professional freelance editor, pastellist, and novelist. I believe in supporting the creativity of all of us.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Letting my manuscript rest

This past writing Friday, I opted not to work on the novel I'm writing. I finished the first draft a little more than a week ago and then did plot map cards in the two days following. Using index cards, I wrote one for each chapter, with a list of the characters in the chapter, location, main plot events, and point of view. It was a great way to get an overview of the story without reading it all the way through and I began to see some of the problem areas and made a list.

But instead of working with the cards last Friday or even setting in to make changes, I opted to write some poetry and do some visual art. And I made a decision to do that for the rest of the month--to just let the manuscript rest. I am going to write some fictional prompts, more poetry, maybe do some reading in some of the books on creativity and writing that I keep around. But I need some perspective on the story and its strengths and weaknesses and jumping back in doesn't seem the best idea at the moment.